Charlie VanDarin
Charlie VanDarin (Born sometime in December of 2023) is a twenty-one year old young man living within the city limits of Truffleton. Originally from Pole City himself, he is currently an active member of the local gang, The Pole City Boys. He is often considered sarcastic and crass by other town members, and has a reputation for his destructive antics. He is mute; unable to talk or make any sort of sounds whatsoever. Background Truffleton Early Life : His early life was hectic and traumatic. Born only one year before the final bombing of The Great War Charlie VanDarin was the first child of Anne and Hector VanDarin. He was raised in Pole City , Kansas by his mother, as his father was an active Leiutenant in the military. When the bomb was dropped, he and his mother were forced out of Pole City, where they lived with a group of other refugees, never to hear from his father again. : The refugees had created a make-shift town just southwest of Pole City (slightly northwest of Truffleton). There, they would live a life solely based on survival. Many of the refugees would die, due to radiation poisoning, wounds from the bombings, or invasions. At age four, Charlie witnessed his mother being raped and beaten by a raider that had ransacked the refugees' settlement. Anne VanDarin became pregnant, and later gave birth to a girl who they named Annalise Elyn. It would be seven more difficult years filled with death, disease, and abuse before the town would be burned to the ground by a group of mutant raiders, killing his mother in the process. : At age eleven, Charlie was forced to go out on his own with his eight-year-old sister, Annalise. They became survivalist raiders themselves, and would attack and rob small groups of other refugees in order to obtain food. They were vagabonds, and never slept in the same space twice, traveling with only what they could carry on their backs. Although they started out as solely attacking for survival, they soon became entranced by the thrill and addicted to the rush. However, they both had a pact never to kill. Teen Years : When Charlie was sixteen, he and his sister attempted to rob a group of women who they thought to be refugees. When they attacked, they soon realized that these were not normal survivors at all, but in fact another group of highly skilled survivalists. In an intense battle of hand-to-hand combat, Annalise and Charlie were both stabbed, Charlie once in the ribs and Annalise three times in the stomach. The women took all of their possestions and left them to die. Annalise, being only twelve, was no match for the wounds and died that night, despite all of Charlie's best efforts. That night, something changed phyisiologically inside of Charlie, rendering him completely unable to talk. : After this event, Charlie found his way into the makings of Truffleton . The people there nursed him back to health, and quickly accepted him into society, unaware of his past as a raider. When he found a group of other Pole City originees, he quickly joined their local gang known as The Pole City Boys, eager to once again feel the thrill of destruction. Education : Because Charlie was born only one year before The Great War's bombing near Kansas, he never received a formal education. All of his knowledge is based on what he was able to pick up through his life. Because of this, he can neither read nor write. : : Characteristics Appearance : At 6'4", Charlie is a young man of relatively intimidating stature. With a muscular build, a chin strap, and long shaggy auburn hair, he has the appearance of a frat boy from the early 21st Century. His left ear is pierced with a jem he found during an attack on other refugees. There is a long scar on his ribcage from the attack that killed his sister. : : He typically wears a folded purple bandana tied around his neck, which he uses to cover his face quickly when committing a crime or trying to escape a scene. He wears a white sleeveless shirt under a black leather jacket with white accents and a banded collar. His jeans are dark and fit tightly, as does most clothing for this time. His most prized possession is his belt, which he obtained in his first raid. It is made up of thick black leather with a designed burned into it the entire length. The buckle is a square metal box with an American eagle etched inside. However, both the design and the eagle are so worn that they are indistinguishable. Personality : Emotionally dampened by all of the trauma in his life, Charlie has a hard time caring for anyone but himself. He is considered crass and sarcastic by those that can understand him, considering he can't speak. He is generally a charismatic person, however, he will use people to get what he wants. He is addicted to vandalism and any other petty crimes. Communication : Unable to actually speak, Charlie has managed to get along surprisingly well in society. Because of the close quarters in which the citizens of Truffleton are forced to live, other citizens have come to understand what he means quite well through gestures and facial expressions. Often times, even complex messages can be conveyed through a simple raise of an eyebrow. However, people new to Truffleton cannot understand anything more than what he can mouth or point to. Idiosyncrasies : After his sister was killed during an attempted mugging of other refugees, Charlie was instantly affected by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, or P.T.S.D. This P.T.S.D. was so extreme that he completely lost his ability to speak or make any sort of sound, including laughing, humming, etc. He is also addicted to committing crimes. : : Category:Writer Characters Category:Characters